Follow My Orders
Kang Moo-hyuk, deep in thought hunting for the hidden orcs, received a report from the operator that made his ears perk up in disbelief.
"The orcs attacked?"
And they had targeted only the hunters.
Coincidence?
No way.
Kang Moo-hyuk had the attack locations marked on the map.
"Where were the attack sites?"
No sooner had the positions appeared on the screen map than Kang Moo-hyuk realized they looked familiar.
One's the guild's private parking lot, and the other... National Pocheon Hospital.
National Pocheon Hospital had no direct ties to Iron Will, but the Hunter Association had borrowed a building from the Ministry of National Defense to run a hunter hospital there.
Before Iron Will set up shop, North Pocheon had been a hunting ground for freelancers and rookies. Most of them lacked experience, leading to a high injury rate.
To support new hunters' growth, the Association had set up dedicated hunter beds at the hospital.
It was small-scale but crucial, so Association-deployed hunters stood guard around the clock.
"No casualties at the parking lot aside from smashed cars—lucky break. What about the hospital damage?"
"A skilled hunter party happened to be visiting a comrade there, so they teamed up with the Association's guards and took them all down."
"How many?"
"Two."
Seven orcs known so far.
One suspected to be a squad leader-grade orc.
Two escaped the parking lot. That makes four sighted total. Where are the other three? Or... are there really only seven?
As Kang Moo-hyuk pondered, Gong Du-ri cautiously asked.
"What about the support forces we sent?"
"What? We sent support? Who ordered that?"
"Uh... on-site judgment... they went out."
"Who went on their own initiative?!"
"The strategic team leader..."
Kang Moo-hyuk let out a hollow laugh.
Why is Jo Choong-hyeon popping up here?
Jo Choong-hyeon was nominally Iron Will Guild's current strategic tactical team leader.
He was also the lackey of Tae Su-man, Taeseong Group's chairman's second son and director of strategic planning.
If he's moving, does that mean Tae Su-man's involved?
He ran through scenarios, but none explained why Tae Su-man would issue such an order.
Suddenly, Kang Moo-hyuk realized he was overcomplicating it. He stripped back to basics, and the picture cleared.
It's because of me.
Kang Moo-hyuk had been quietly dismantling the strategic tactical team lately.
Tae Su-man backed him for now, but that support wouldn't last. He couldn't leave Tae Su-man's plants embedded in the guild when the time came.
So he'd rerouted most duties to himself, planning to sideline Jo Choong-hyeon into irrelevance and erode his influence.
He must've sensed his position shrinking. Got desperate. Felt the pressure to do something. Then Do Kyung-hoon—one of the guild's three main lines—got axed. That shook him. Probably moved to make up for it.
Kang Moo-hyuk could guess Jo Choong-hyeon's mindset. Panic over losing turf was common during transfer seasons at Titan.
But acting selfishly in a critical op where lives hung in the balance?
My mistake. Should've cut him loose sooner.
Not easy, though. To dodge Tae Su-man's scrutiny, he needed eyes and ears close by. Kicking Jo out rashly could provoke full-on interference.
Not yet.
"Chiming in after the fact? What's the point now it's over. Tsk! So where's Jo team leader handling?"
"Well..."
"What?"
"The area Jo team leader took... it's where his old line's people were."
Gong Du-ri trailed off, switching the screen to the zone instead.
"Full of holes."
Kang Moo-hyuk muttered in disbelief.
The encirclement had completely unraveled.
Spilled milk. Time to clean up.
Kang Moo-hyuk checked the attack times for the parking lot and hospital.
As expected: hospital first—closer to downtown—then a timed gap before the parking lot sighting.
The hospital report lagged because it fell under Association jurisdiction, not Iron Will.
With Jo Choong-hyeon fixated there, the orcs slipped the gap toward the parking lot.
These bastards move like they've got a plan. Like humans.
No proof, but suspicious enough.
Before, he'd assumed evolved orcs with basic intelligence. Hence the net and simple sweeps.
Who'd guess they'd counterattack?
"Should I plan this like fighting hunters, not monsters?"
Gong Du-ri, catching his mutter, chimed in oddly.
"But don't they know the terrain too well? They hit the hospital and parking lot tied to hunters like they knew exactly. Like in a game, hitting houses and towers, knowing enemy spots. Monsters with map hacks or what?"
"Wait, what? Say that again."
"What? Map hacks?"
"Before that."
"Towers? Houses?"
A bolt of insight struck Kang Moo-hyuk.
They pinpointed hunter spots. Assuming intelligence to scout ahead means they knew weak points. Motive aside. But the missing three... that's the snag.
Thinking not orcs—what would he do?
"Home."
Kang Moo-hyuk echoed Gong Du-ri's word.
"I'd hit the center."
No sooner had he spoken than an explosion rocked from somewhere.
Parking lot, hospital, city hall. Outer, inner, core—the classic shake-up. Split thin forces to scatter eyes. Textbook against tribal monsters. Goal: chaos in the heart—
Kang Moo-hyuk rushed to the window, flinging it open.
Through billowing smoke, an orc appeared.
"Aiming for chaos... What the hell are you orcs after?!"
City hall sat empty of hunters now—all out chasing the "fleeing" orcs. He had to stall until nearby hunters arrived.
Kang Moo-hyuk patted his waist. His emergency pistol gripped firm.
This'll have to do...
He bolted outside.
"Gong team leader, emergency call to nearby hunters!"
"W-wait! Guild master! Hey, you crazy bastard, what're you doing out there?!"
Gong Du-ri tried to stop him, but the sudden chaos left her grasping air.
* * *
City hall's main parking lot, electric vehicle chargers in ruins.
Acrid smoke choked the air from the blast; screams echoed as people fled every which way.
The two orcs started by smashing nearby cars, then lunged at fleeing civilians.
A pregnant woman became the first mark.
"Kyaaak!"
Bang!
One shot, and the orc crumpled.
But not dead—just writhing in agony on the ground.
"Run!"
Kang Moo-hyuk kept his eyes locked on the orc, yelling at the woman. Legs buckling, she summoned maternal strength, crawling to safety.
As the orc bared fangs and reached again, Kang Moo-hyuk fired.
Bang!
"Grrooowuk!"
The orc that had shrugged off a revolver groaned.
Worth the price. Good it works here.
Kang Moo-hyuk wasn't using ordinary bullets.
Mana bullets.
Bullets blessed with mana.
Regular gunpowder faltered under mana interference.
In special zones or gates, power dropped sharply, but elsewhere, they packed real punch against monsters.
Not for giants or high-ranks, but plenty for orcs.
Evolved or not—species limits held. These were bottom-rung grunts.
No feathered officer orc in sight—small mercy.
Glad I kept up shooting drills.
Tactical training from his Titan support days paid off.
Mana bullets cost potion prices per shot, but lives outpriced them. Rare use, pricey stock—wasted shots spelled doom.
Kang Moo-hyuk aimed at the thrashing orc's head.
"Kuaaa!"
Suddenly, the other orc charged from the side.
He rolled aside, tumbling to gain distance. Firing blindly at its legs as it pursued; it howled and collapsed.
Halting his roll, Kang Moo-hyuk swung his barrel—the orcs ducked behind cars.
Even monsters hated pain.
Descending into the lot, he'd planned to conserve shots: maximize agony, buy time with threats.
Going to plan, he caught his breath.
"Huuu..."
Then, a distant orc shifted.
It shoved a compact car forward as shield, advancing. The other circled wide, using parked vehicles for cover.
Brute force, but no dumb brutes these.
Kang Moo-hyuk fell back to secure firing angles without encirclement. Too many cars for cover, though.
Even in peril, he stayed cool.
Bullets bought time, but not long.
Hold till reinforcements; fallback with suppressive fire if needed.
Stoic outside, sweating inside as he eyed escapes—
"Yo, long time no see, you fuckers? Heard the racket, came to check—fancy faces."
The sudden voice made Kang Moo-hyuk turn. Even the orcs glanced.
He spotted the source.
One woman, one man.
The woman spoke.
Attire:
Hunters?
Lightly armed, but unmistakable.
Not Iron Will—he knew every guild hunter.
"Hey, orcs. Just you two? Where's your pals?"
"Grook?"
"Yeah, not strangers, right? Saw you the other day. At the kindergarten. Crunch! Owe you big then."
"Sis, looks like we can one-on-one this."
Kang Moo-hyuk pieced it: the two freelancers from the kindergarten incident.
Too busy to meet personally; he'd skimmed staff reports.
Still around?
Recalling profiles, reports flashed: decent skills, per kindergarten testimony and Baek Seong-bin's matchup.
Odd dual-tanker party, but they wouldn't fold easy against orcs—not dominate, but hold.
Calculations done, Kang Moo-hyuk barked.
"Yoo Seong-joo hunter, take front. Kim Soo-jeong hunter, switch to support DPS formation."
"Pardon?"
"What? Wait, how do you know our formation..."
Stunned by the abrupt order, they gawked at him.
Ignoring stares, Kang Moo-hyuk repeated.
"Sorry, but please follow my orders here."